A Road Not Treaded
by Hapi-San
Summary: A strange hedgehog appears in the Mystic Ruins, bruised and battered. What ties does he hold to Sonic, why is he so familiar, and what's so important about his emerald...? Mainly OC, but will have Sonic & Co. in later chapters.


My first story on here... :o Whee. This was actually written originally by my love, Allison, with her character Teila.

Whilst I continue to write my own story, one that will be on here soon but only when I have the first full chapter done, (it's long, and it'll be rated M due to some strong themes running through it), I thought I'd have a hand at rewriting her story using my own style. It also means she tells/sends me the plot of the further chapters for it she hasn't yet released on here, yay. :D It got no reviews, unfortunately, but if anyone does review this one, please be kind, but critical also. :.

And so, without further interruption, Cinossu is © Me, Teila is © Allison, and enjoy!

* * *

**- Infatuation -**

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

The jungles of the Mystic Ruins; dense foliage all around, visibility reduced to only a few metres ahead, a narrow path being all there is to guide you, the entire area teeming with ancient secrets and unknowns. With wildlife and plant-life all around, Mother Nature herself seemed to be cocooning the entire place, so as to keep everything locked up and hidden in the deep maze that was once the ancient grounds of the Echidna.

If you were of the misfortune to stray from the path, you may be lost for hours, even days, before ever finding your way out of the lush greenery of the place, if at all. With so much unknown as to the area, it was not safe to be in these jungles at night, as the lone hedgehog attempting to make his way through and out of the Mystic Ruins knew from being lost for two days, trying to survive without food or shelter. The hedgehog was a golden yellow in colour, wearing what appeared to be a green pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue hoodie tied around his waist, the heat of the day obviously too much to wear such a garment. With one arm clutching his side, the hedgehog covered in a monotony of cuts and bruises, limping his way through the bushes, leaves and branches, there was but two words on his mind.

'… This sucks.'

He sighed and leant against a tree for a minutes rest, casting his view upwards to the trees high above him, the sun's rays beating down on him reminding him of just how dehydrated he was becoming. Opening a water bottle he had found left by a stream running through the place, he drained it dry before heading off once more. He had spent the previous day following the river, hoping to find some sort of end to the dense plant-life via its fast-moving streams. However, all he found was that it ran in a full circle throughout the area.

Catching the deep cut on his leg on a sticking out tree branch, the hedgehog winced in pain as he was brought back from his mind wander, and once again stopped in his tracks to inspect his wound. Looking up again, he realised the sky was already getting dark again, and quickly. He did not want to be spending another night in this place. He was no fool, he knew how bad his injuries were, and had to tend to them properly before one of the many cuts or wounds got infected.

'… There's got to be civilisation around here somewhere… This can't be a reality where higher intelligence hasn't evolved, can it…?'

Once again resuming his task of finding a way out, he took a glance to his left hand, holding what appeared to be a golden yellow emerald. Smiling, he remembered that he had at least managed to get a hold of what he had needed to, despite the consequences…

Unfortunately for the hedgehog, deep in his reminisce about his actions previous to being lost in the Mystic Ruins, he did not realise where he was walking. Tripping over yet another tree branch, he was brought roughly back to reality, but instead of falling face-first into the floor, as he thought he would, he began his descent over the edge of a cliff.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

High above the jungle landscape, much like that of the foliage, the skies were a peaceful and quiet place, slightly cloudy but mostly clear. Void of activity except for the occasional cry of an exotic bird or two, it certainly would add to the hedgehog's hypothesis of no real high-intelligence life within the area. However, all this was shattered as an object came falling out of the sky fast, parting and scattering the clouds as it fell through them. The birds in its way were quick to avoid it, for fear of joining in its descent, and once successfully out of the way were left hearing a sound, being omitted from the object itself as it fell…

"YAHOOOOOOOO!"

The young fox girl literally falling out of the sky was grinning with joy, no parachute on her back or a board at her feet, and her eyes covered with a pair of red goggles to protect them from the intense pressures of her current idea of fun. Her jacket was thrown open by the wind and, along with her hair, whipped back wildly. With such a happy grin on her face, without a care in the world, you'd wonder both if she'd done this before, and how she survived such a feat…

… Well, that was her secret.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a cliff edge, with what looked like a yellow blob slowly moving towards it. Twisting her body upside down and removing her goggles, she squinted slightly to try and get a better view of the sight before her.

'Hey… it's a hedgehog… it kinda looks like Sonic who had a fight with a can of yellow paint… and lost.' She thought to herself, smirking at the idea. As she carried on watching the hedgehog during her descent she could take in his appearance a little more, and slowly her grin faded as she watched the golden yellow hedgehog trip over right off the edge of the cliff.

Watching this, the fox girl adjusted her direction of fall within the air to steer towards the now descending hedgehog; a determined look now upon her face, acting quickly to save him from the fall that would end in the hedgehog's almost certain death.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

With gravity pulling the hedgehog fast towards the ground below, his mind was not able to process all the information being sent to it at the time due to under-nourishment and slight dehydration. His mind couldn't accept that he was in danger; it wasn't like he was falling to his death… right?

At the sound of a loud cry, however, he once again opened his eyes, making himself feel both dizzy and disorientated. What was that hovering almost along side him? It was an orange… creature, of some sort, that had what appeared to be arms stretched out to him.  
'What is that… a badnik…?' he pondered to himself, 'No, a badnik is robotic… unless Robotnik has mastered cybernetics in this reality…'

The orange creature falling with him grabbed a hold of him, and making a closer glance at his descending companion he realised it was an orange fox, taking in her ears, her face, her large blue eyes… he remembered those eyes from somewhere…  
'… Heh, maybe I do really die from this fall, and an angel is coming to collect me…' he smiled at the thought, closing his eyes and giving in to his mind as he finally slipped into unconsciousness.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

Looking down at the hedgehog in her arms, she gasped slightly when he looked back up at her. Deep crimson eyes gazed at her, piercing through her own, as if peering into her very soul…

She was brought out of the seemingly hypnotic trance by a smile upon his face, his eyes rolling back as he slipped unconscious. Blushing at the look and smile she sighed, and looking down at the rapidly approaching ground she was at least happy as to not having to explain the whole 'falling out of the air' thing. Closing her eyes, about an inch or two above the foliage beneath them they stopped, frozen in the very air. Hopping down from an invisible step, she smiled as she congratulated herself from her successful fall, for she had been practicing.

Turning back to face the hedgehog, she sighed again as she realised she'd have to carry him back with her. She took a hold of his via his arms, wincing as she leant all of his weight on her back, her petite form struggling to keep him up.  
'He went through something bad…' she thought to herself, able to take in his appearance from memory as they were falling, absent-mindedly running her fingers along a cut on the side of his hand.

Dropping him to the floor for a little rest, she took a closer look at him, observing all of the cuts and bruises along his visible skin, dulled in colour, his clothes filthy and ripped. Leaning down to him, she ran her fingers along a cut on his cheek, at which the hedgehog murmured from the touch.

Realising what she was doing, she quickly pulled her hand back and shook her head from side to side, wondering just what was going through her mind. Once again struggling to pick the hedgehog up, with another wince she started what would be a long walk and drag to the Mystic Ruins train station.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

Opening his eyes, the hedgehog found himself in a very different situation to the one he was, according to his own recollections, just in. Staring up at a light yellow ceiling, he watched the slow rotations of a ceiling fan, blinking a little as he woke up a little more, realising he was in someone's bed.

Sitting up slowly, the hedgehog groaned as his back shouted at his brain, his wounds finally being remembered. Looking up at the room around him, he pondered to himself just where he was. Paying further attention to his surroundings, he noticed specific details about the room he was in. There were comic books and video games equipment strewn all over the floor, a tower of pineapple soda cans against the wall by the window. Shoes and clothes were thrown into a corner of the room, near a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. Blinking, the hedgehog's eyes focused onto a bra hanging out of the top drawer, at which he quickly averted his gaze elsewhere.

'Okay,' he thought to himself, 'This is obviously a girl's bedroom. But who's…? It isn't Tails's… I wonder where she is, I couldn't find her anywhere in that jungle…'

Looking down at his body, he noticed various cuts that had been cleaned and bandaged along his chest, before realising that he _was_ staring at his chest.  
'... Speaking of things missing, where's my shirt?' the hedgehog blushed at his slight exposure, his eyes searching the floor from the bed for his clothing.

He was about to get out of the bed and search for his misplaced shirt when he noticed the singing coming from the room beyond the door. It was getting louder. Obviously the room's owner was about to reappear. Assessing the options available to him, the hedgehog laid back down on the bed, his head against the pillow, and feigned sleep.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

Kicking the door open as her hands were full, the fox girl came into her bedroom singing merrily and carrying two large bags full of bagels, making room on her desk by pushing random things to the sides and setting them down, a few of the ring-shaped rolls bouncing out of the bags and along the floor.  
"Bagel time, bagel time! Everything bagels, sesame bagels, all are yummy for me!" she sang happily, obviously in a good mood about the little snack she had just picked up.

Walking over to the hedgehog occupying her bed, she gazed down upon him, giving an intense stare to his apparently-still-unconscious face. Feeling the stare upon his features, the hedgehog wondered how long she would do so. A touch upon his cheek made him almost flinch and give his awakened status away, but he was luckily able to suppress it, her fingers lightly running along his skin. Words appearing in the fox girl's head, she began to sing them out loud subconsciously, her hand still resting on the hedgehog's cheek.

"_Kiwa moten Cinos-keni, muzuru ai nita yo…"_

With a gasp at the mention of these words, the hedgehog opened his eyes, only to find the fox girl from his fall, maybe a year younger than he was by the looks of her now with a clearer mind, looking at him with such an intense stare that he could do nothing but hold it and stare right back. He took notice of her hair, cut short and layered, falling over one of her eyes. He recognised that hair, where had he seen it before…

Her ears twitching at the sound of his gasp, her fingers froze upon his face before she awoke from her mini-trance, realising they were staring at each other, and that the hedgehog was awake, before breaking into a blush and quickly moving her hand away, clutching it to her chest.

"H-How much did you hear…?" she asked, clearly embarrassed to be caught. All the hedgehog could do was blink and mutter an "Um…" sound, unable to answer the question the fox girl asked before she spoke again.  
"Hey! You should at least say thank you, you know, for saving your yellow spiny butt back there, I mean, who just trips and falls off of a cliff…! Just for that you aren't getting a bagel…"  
"Ah, thank y--" was all the hedgehog could say before, once again, the fox girl interrupted his line of speech.  
"Oh, nonono, I was just doing what anyone would've done, I mean, it's not like I have any specific interest in you or anything; it isn't like you're special or something…" she said as she blushed further, seemingly trying to find words to work her way out of the situation.

With a frown, the hedgehog was once again about to say something, his mouth open and ready to speak, before the fox girl's face completely changed, to that of a bright smile that seemed so relaxed and happy it contradicted all of the ranting that had just occurred. His own face going blank, and seeing she was about to say something again, he closed his mouth to let her speak first.  
"My name is Teila," she said with a smile, "Teila Fox. It's a pleasure to meet you… Well, not really, ahaha… But that's okay!"

Blinking at her and scratching his head slightly, the hedgehog gave Teila a look of wonderment before looking down and wincing in pain, touching upon a bandage on his forehead.  
"Hey, don't poke at those!" she scolded, "You've got a lot of bumps and bruises there… what's your name, spiny?"  
"… Cinos…su, my name is Cinossu." he replied after thinking for a moment, looking back up at her and removing his hand from his brow.  
"Hm, Cinossu… seems like you got beaten up or something…" said Teila, in relation to the condition she found him in. At this, the hedgehog looked down at the ground, closing his eyes…

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

_He cursed, and sent another Eggrobo skyward with a flying kick to its head, putting it out of commission. However, where one was destroyed another 3 of the gold-plated badniks came in its place._

'_Shit, there's too many of them…' the hedgehog thought to himself, quickly formulating a strategy to defeat his metallic foes. Ignoring the blood trickling down the side of his head from the lucky shot of a now-scrapped badnik, he sent himself crashing into the nearest Eggrobo, forcing it and its accomplices that had just arrived into the nearest wall, whereupon the hedgehog spun through their metallic bodies, the sounds of twisted metal and the splattering of oil all that could be heard for the next few seconds._

_Tumbling a few feet away, he ended up on his knees, panting heavily at the onslaught of enemies, thankful for the more-than-likely brief rest. He tilted his head to either side, looking at his handiwork with a little smirk, before the frown he wore from earlier settled on his face once more remembering his current mission was far from complete. Standing up once again, the hedgehog muttered six words to the piles of scrap all around him._

"_Time to get back what's mine."_

"… _Hey, Cinos! You okay…?" a voice said from behind him. Turning around sharply, he saw the shape of his best friend looking in a similar state to himself; her overalls were covered in oil, as well as patches of her fur, and one of the straps was slipping off of her shoulder. She grinned as she caught her breath whilst looking him over, shaking her head and idly tapping her ever-present wrench lightly against her forehead, the very one that had created an impressive pile of broken Eggrobo parts not too dissimilar in size to Cinossu's very own._

"_You've gotta slow down a little, Cinos. You're not even fully healed from the last fight, and here you are taking on yet more of these blasted creations…" she said, pointing to multiple bruises and open cuts along his body. With a slight glare, the hedgehog responded to his friend's words of advice.  
"I can't slow down, Tails, and you know exactly why. You of all people know…" he said, "I have to get it back. If I don't, the entire world is in deep trouble… and not only this one, but countless others too. I've gotta get back that emerald…!"  
Upon finishing his statement, Cinossu sprinted off once again in the direction of his nemesis at the time. With a sigh and a nod of acknowledgement to no-one in particular, his best friend spun her twin-tails around in a helicopter-rotor style movement, and flew off to catch up with the hedgehog._

_**-x-x-x-x-x-**_

"Yeah… beaten up…" said Cinossu with a frown, his eyes still closed and facing the floor, remembering what had happened before he arrived in that jungle. Watching the expressions of the downcast hedgehog, Teila decided to try and cheer him up a little with a little Teila-style happiness.  
"… Well, that sucks," she responded, "You shouldn't let others bully you, no way!"  
"… Huh?" was all the hedgehog could say as he looked up, a quizzical look on his face at her bluntness and at just how joyful she sounded.  
"But we'll worry about that at a later time," she said as she stood up from his bedside, her arms dropping to her sides, "You need to rest. I don't know exactly what happened to you, but… Well, um, you look strong… You remind me of my friend, Sonic, a little…"

After Teila had spoken Cinossu once again gave her a look of wonderment, lifting one eyebrow up at such a familiar name. However, looking down at his hands, still remembering the events of the past, his eyes widened in realisation of yet another object that was missing. Lifting his head up and staring into the fox girl's eyes, his brow furrowed as he asked his next question.  
"… Did you happen to find an emerald with or near me?"

Blinking and tilting her head slightly, Teila tried to remember if she saw such an object near the hedgehog as he was falling, or at the ground where they landed. With a shake of her head signifying no, the hedgehog's frown deepened.  
"Shit, not again," he exclaimed, hissing in pain as he began to sit up once more, "I have to go find it, before someone else does. I thank you for your generous hospitality, Teila, but I really must go."

Cinossu stood up out of the bed and, after picking up his shirt from the floor along with his hoodie, he made his way to the door of the bedroom, in the process of putting his clothes back on when a cry of "Hey, wait a second…!" stopped him in his tracks.  
"What is it…?" the hedgehog asked, blinking and turning around, his hand on the doorknob about to leave. Teila, walking over to him slowly, held up her finger as she did so, and upon arriving in-front of him just stood there with a raised finger.  
"What is it-- owww!" exclaimed Cinossu loudly, wincing and bending over, his impatience beginning his sentence and a poke to the side to one of his bandaged cuts by Teila's finger finishing it for him. Standing up straight again and glaring at her, he grumbled as she kept the finger raised up, as if it were a dangerous, controlling weapon of some sort.

"Just as I thought," Teila began, "You're not going anywhere. What if you got into another fight when a single finger can defeat you…?"  
"It's called adrenaline-- oww!" the hedgehog cried out again, Teila once again having poked one of his more deeper cuts, this time almost falling to his knees from the pain.  
"Don't make me use this again," she said, glaring right back at him, "I'll go out and look for you. It's a yellow emerald, about the size of a Chaos Emerald, maybe a wee bit smaller, but sharing resemblance, right…?"

Standing up once again as the pain subsided, Cinossu gave her a suspicious look. Wondering what exactly she had done to warrant his suspicions, Teila just stared back quizzically.  
"I never told you what it looked like… I just asked if you found an emerald near me…" he explained, one eyebrow rising. Teila's eyes widened at the realisation, and she blinked, beginning to laugh hysterically.  
"… Ahahaha, um, you're so stupid, I can't believe I was right! Boy am I good at guessing, ahaha… um, err, I'll be going now, to try and find your emerald for you, yeah…" she said rather quickly and panicky, grabbing her glasses from her desk and setting them atop of her head, walking, almost jogging towards the door.  
"Hey, wait a minute--" Cinossu started, trying to reach out for her before she got out of the room.  
"Treat yourself to a bagel!" she shouted as she waved and almost ran out of the door, slamming it behind her with a force that shook almost everything. Once outside she slid her back down it, sitting against the carpeted floor and sighing in silent relief.  
'That was too close, Tei,' she thought to herself, 'You better watch your mouth before he gets even more suspicious…'

Staring at the door for around thirty seconds before sighing, Cinossu made his way slowly across the room to Teila's desk, grabbing a bagel and sitting down once again upon her bed. Thinking back over their conversation just now, his brow furrowed once more.  
"How did she know…" he wondered out loud to himself, "… And I thought she wasn't going to let me have one of her bagels…"  
Taking a bite out of the ring-shaped bread, his mind once again pondered exactly just where he had seen her before, for he knew he recognised her from somewhere, but was unsure as to where…  
"… Unless she's from…" he realised, his mind finally figuring out the link, "Well, at least I think she looks like her… and those words whilst she thought I was still unconscious… but it's been so long, and I hardly remember that reality now, anyway…"

With another heavy sigh, the hedgehog stared at the half-eaten bagel in his hands, and waited for Teila to return, his mind mulling over the possibility of meeting her before, or if it was just some strange coincidence. Unable to come to a conclusion quick enough for his mind to accept with the current state of things, he sighed once again, muttering four words to himself.

"What a strange girl…"


End file.
